Widow of former sheriff Bigger sues Orange County over death

Former Orange County Sheriff Frank Bigger's widow is suing the county, claiming Bigger received negligent care when he stayed at the county-run Valley View Center for Nursing Care and Rehabilitation for two weeks shortly before his death last year.

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By CHRIS MCKENNA

recordonline.com

By CHRIS MCKENNA

Posted May. 25, 2013 at 2:00 AM

By CHRIS MCKENNA
Posted May. 25, 2013 at 2:00 AM

» Social News

Former Orange County Sheriff Frank Bigger's widow is suing the county, claiming Bigger received negligent care when he stayed at the county-run Valley View Center for Nursing Care and Rehabilitation for two weeks shortly before his death last year.

In a complaint filed last month in state Supreme Court, Alice Bigger says her husband suffered serious injuries when he fell out of his bed at the nursing home in February 2012.

The former sheriff died at Orange Regional Medical Center on April 14, 2012, more than eight weeks after the complaint says that the fall occurred.

The lawsuit also makes a litany of broad claims about inadequate care, without any details.

It alleges, for instance, that Valley View failed to properly feed or medicate Bigger and "make provisions for falls."

George Smith, the Goshen attorney who brought the case on Alice Bigger's behalf, didn't return calls to discuss the case.

When contacted Friday, Alice Bigger said she had to speak with her lawyer before talking about the lawsuit.

Bigger, who was 79 when he died, was Orange County sheriff from 1994 to 2002 and had been undersheriff for three years before then, after serving more than 34 years with the state police.

He was unseated by the current sheriff, Carl DuBois, in a Republican primary in 2002.

According to the court papers, Bigger had heart problems, diabetes and "other chronic medical conditions" when he entered Valley View.

His obituary indicates he spent his final six months at Orange Regional, without mentioning an interlude at Valley View.